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Ill - Gotten Gains review

Ill are a three-piece rock band from Atlanta and here they present us with their second studio album, Gotten Gains. For Ill, the lines between musical genres seem very close: they describe their music as being "big blues riffs done with a punk attitude and very much rooted in soul" and say that "the lines of classification between Ray Charles and Black Sabbath are very blurry." Forgive me if I don't agree, but bearing this in mind whilst listening to this record does give it an interesting spin, and listening closely enough, you can feel where these eclectic influences play a part.

Album opener One Time gives you no room for getting comfortable, launching directly into a rapid onslaught of metal guitars and a great circular riff, before the vocalist shows us just how far he can take his singing. The lyrics are delivered at first with an almost soul-sounding style, and you can immediately see where an aspect of Ill's influence comes from. We get a taste of slightly more normal vocals at the end of verses and such, and it is evident that this guy can sing, and the band is here to rock out. This is a good track, but the quality is not followed up in the next two tracks, which leave me feeling underwhelmed. However, the band continue to deliver a high-octane punch of heavy, hard rock, but these two tracks are nowhere near as good or polished as the opener. It can, though, be said of all the rockier tracks that they sound like they belong in the 'Sons of Anarchy' soundtrack.

Thankfully, it is at this point we are given a change of pace in the form of the moody, brilliant Christine. A slow opener gives way to a simple, slow piano and drum combination, with the vocals atop. It creates a brilliant dark mood that lulls you in just enough as the picking of the guitar is introduced into the mix. As the track progresses, the drum gets hit harder, the vocals get more impassioned and angry, and the track builds up brilliantly, carrying the listener with it, before the music fades and we are left with the threatening vocals. We are then treated to a brilliant second half of the track, where the band are as heavy and driving as anywhere on this album, and the vocals don't get any more passionate and strained than this throughout. It's a great track that judges the pace perfectly as it builds, rocks when it does, and doesn't drag the climax of the track on for too long.

Unfortunately, this is the main substance of the album until Finches comes aong with its irresistibly sleazy guitar riff and confident vocals, before giving way to a subtly picked quieter section where the higher-pitched soul-sounding vocals return. Here again the band return to a quality similar to the opener, but sound more accomplished here. The production team did a really good job of giving the classic 'loud-quieter-loud' structure a soulful kick and the entire track is a pleasure.

Whilst Gotten Gains isn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination, Ill have managed to craft at least some excellent tracks. When they rock, they really rock, and they're certainly not afraid to let their eclectic music tastes play a part in each aspect of their recording. They also demonstrate that they know how to play around with the formula, and create moodier tracks that creep up on you. Whilst there are some tracks that disappoint, the ones that don't are well worth hearing. It could be said that they're so good they leave the rest of the album unfortunately cold.